Pours a slightly hazy brownish-amber color with a one-finger tan head. The head recedes into a thin layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of muted dark malts with good amounts of plums and raisins and lighter amounts of tart dark cherries. As the beer warms the tartness increases a bit and some woody tones enter into things.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Well-integrated dark fruits - plums mostly with hints of raisins - kick things off, backed up by nondescript malts. Midway through the sip the flavors turn a bit tart with lighter fruits, cherries and currants, replacing the darker fruits. As with the aroma oak flavors make their way into things as the beer warms. The ending is slightly tart.

Corked and caged bottle into some nice glassware. Split with Oglmcdgl and Marymazz, thx 4 the shot.

Jongleur casts a dark muddy brownish red with a thick inch of tan colored head. Quickly fading the foam leaves some marks on the glass, not a big lacer here. Up towards light some plum colors come forth. Some swirls bring a dying cap.

Cuvee' scents include a mixture of the three blends and it's hard to place which comes out on top. A big blast of apricots and some other citrus with dark fruit plums. A lot of sour cherry and some vinegar hiding from that flanders addition. Some apples and yeast from the triple I guess. Plus sour and funky from the bugs, woody from the oak.

Getting a basket full of sour cherries up front in the mouth followed by a light dousing of vinegarette. Further in a little tropic flavor going into darker territory with plum. The blond quad does not come out as much, although I never had a blond one. Cuvee goes into some green apples towards the finish showcasing the triple. Did not pick up that much oak. Pretty sour throughout though not mind blowing.

This has a medium body on it and is a pretty dry quaff, at least it finishes that way. Slightly acidic, kinda tart and on the sour side. The mix between sweet, dry, and sour comes and goes. This is interesting beer. I liked my serving size but would probably die if I tried one on my own. It's drinkable, but best to share, I got bubble guts in the morning into afternoon.

Poured this 750 mL green bottle into a Tripel Karmeliet glass. No date but there was a sticker with "MA". The body was a beautiful clear red-gold. The cream colored head was loose but stayed, leaving clingy lace.

Smell was sour, then cherries. Bready and dirtier on the second pour. Alcohol aroma increased as it warmed.

Taste was puckering sour and drying, very nice. Woody and richly fruity. This was a very interesting beer, not ultra complex, but it kept my attention.

Mouthfeel was medium in body with adequate carbonation. Parching dryness that I really enjoy.

Pours orange with light cream head that fades quicly. Aroma of vanilla, lemon and orange. Funky tartness with a rich sweet backbone. Tastes like a sour apple jolly rancher. Nice medium body and a great sipper.

T: Has the lactic classic red malt that Flanders Reds are known for, oak and acid are clear. Adds some more complexity with some Belgian malt and ester flavours, notes of fruit - lemon and tangerine in there as well.

D: This is a quality beer for sure. Shame it is so expensive, I can buy Rodenbach Grand Cru for half the price and I'm getting more. Worth a try, I just wouldn't shell out the cash for another bottle of it.

Light tan head caps a deep mahogany, cloudy body with nice lacing and retention. Aroma is light, tart and funky, light cheesiness, grape fruitiness, some wood, definitely lactic, some apple and dark fruit sweetness. The base of the flavor starts with a Belgian blonde and has a grape fruitiness and sweet throughout, finish is tart and lactic. Not as funky or tart as the Apricot or Kriek were, but more complex and balanced.

Tart flavor hits the sides of your tongue at first gulp. Tart is the overriding flavor. Belgian yeast flavor follows, and my unsophisticated tongue isn't really picking a whole lot more then that. MF is fairly light, though the sour flavor sticks. Alcohol content is barely noticable- a function of the beer's sourness.

The beer really tastes a lot like Cascade's Apricot Ale (semi-lambic) minus the apricot- generally good though not exceptional. I think Cascade should age the beer a fair bit before releasing it, as I tend to believe that this would add to the beer's complexity. If we ever make our way to the raccoon lodge again, I'll definitely grab a bottle to age for a few years

Pours a deep dark ruby/cherry red color with burgundy/mahogany edges and a two finger frothy beige head that quickly subsides. Not much in the way of lacing.

Tart earthy funk aroma with a strong vinous presence as well as a lot of dark fruit, especially sour dark cherry, vinegar and oaky tannis.

Soft carbonation up front that lingers into a slightly vinegary, vinous mothfeel that is a bit flatter and syrupy. Nice balance of tartness and earthy oaky tannis as wel as some dark fruit notes coming from the estery Belgian yeast. Pretty vinous with hints of grape, tart dark cherry, plumand raisin. I cam surprisingly really taste the trpel characteristics of the blend. The ABV is excellently masked making this beer dangerously drinkable. Slightly puckering but not acidic at all. Very good and highly recommended!

taste is good. light cider vinegar. lemon. light acidity. white bread. cracker. horse blanket. bit of hay. touch of cherry. vanilla and raw oak. hints of almond and dark chocolate, but very light. low bitterness level. the description of it being a blend of tripel and flanders red sounds just about right. there's definite characteristics of each, leaning more to the flanders style, but not dipping too deep into the sour world.

Bottle shared at the Blue Palms last week. Review is being transcribed from notes.

A: The beer is an interesting muddy reddish color with a fluffy layer of pinkish foam.

S: A pleasant lactic tartness is the first aroma that I pick up followed by some red berries and perhaps some faint notes of cherry. The level of funk is (a bit disappointingly) low, but still a great nose on this beer.

T: The flavors are solid, but don't quite live up to the aromas. Again, the lactic tartness is front and center with some nice cherry and oak flavors.

M: Despite all the different components and the barrel aging, the body is quite light, but that may be due to the high level of carbonation.

D: A really great beer, overall. Nice and tart with a decent amount of complexity. The only thing I felt myself missing was a bit more funk, but still a nice wild ale nonetheless.

Thanks to screamforme for this extra from our recent trade. Poured from a bottle into a white birch glass. The beer pours a darker than expected ruby red with amber highlights around the edges. There is a frothy two finger pink head that fades quickly and leaves behind a thick coating of sticky foam lacing.

The taste is a blast of sour cherries, followed by a sweeter-but-still-tart raspberry. There is a hint of lemon zest and grassy hops, followed by apple skins. In the mid-palate there is a strange emptiness, almost a plastic flavor that just doesn't fit the rest of the beer, after the strange void there is a nice barrel presence, mostly a mellowing oak. The finish is another strong blast of sour fruit and funk.

The beer is perfectly carbonated for the style, the strong carbonation makes the sour fruit and funk flavors dance in the mouth. The beer is medium bodied, has a nice dry finish that compliments the sour flavors perfectly, and is something I have no problem drinking an entire bottle of. I look forward to trying this one again.

A - A finger of tan foam that dissipates quickly and leaves a few spots of lace. Settles to a light haze and ring. Transparent coppery red/orange color.

S - Raspberries, bretty funk a la Flanders Red. Reminds me a little of Enigma in the high level of sweetness and low amount of sour/tart flavors. A touch of plastic that I didn't dig as much.

T - The taste is better, and the 8.41% is extremely well-hidden. There's none of the aforementioned plastic flavor, and some nice tartness has been added to the mix. Still not all that sour, but masterfully combines the best elements of Flanders Red and Triple components.

M - Some zingy champagne-like carbonation. Medium bodied, with a texture that is a little grittier than I prefer. Nice dry finish with a little bit of residual stickiness.

D - Somehow this beer is greater than the sum of its parts for me. The weaknesses are in areas that don't hamper drinkability, while the strengths made me keep reaching for my glass. I was sad when I grabbed the bottle and discovered there was nothing left.

Consumed at our Cascade tasting on 12/11/2009 and poured into a snifter. The beer pours dark amber with good clarity and a voluminous two finger beige head.

The nose opens up with a distinct Blue Cheese character that remains strong throughout. The fruit is reminiscent of dark ripe cherries and perhaps a bit of ripe apple. The aroma has a moderate acetic and lactic character, as well as prominent oak. This is a nice blend of triple and Flanders red characteristics. Alcohol is subtle for the ABV.

The flavor opens with cherries, ripe apples, and oak. The flavor is woody, with a moderate acetic quality and some tannins. A dash of astringency is evident midpalate. The fruit is moderately sour and lactic in quality, and the finish is fruity, woody, and drying, with moderate tannins.

This is probably my favorite Cascade sour. I've had several bottles of this since it was released, and am thankful to be sharing this one with johnmichaelsen for a review. Poured into a slender tulip, Cuvée Du Jongleur is a bright brassy brown with a big, creamy white head that leaves foamy lace. Pours towards the end of the bottle were a bit murky and dull, but I wasn't particular about the dregs.

Taste is awesome. Cured dark fruits, a very nice lacto sour bite, which has been increasing with age in this beer, oaky but well balanced, with a long finish. Really phenomenal beer, very complex.

Mouthfeel is dry, light and puckering.

Drinkability is insanely high. This is a beer I just want to drink all the time. I've spent quite a bit of dough on these bottles, attempting to stockpile for cellaring, but I always seem to be breaking out my last one!

Obtained a bottle of this delicious stuff at the brewpub yesterday. Talk about an absolute "tour de force" in wild ales.

The beer pours a tannish brown amber color with OK head retention and very good lacing. On the nose... oh my. This has to be one of the most incredibly complex beers I've ever smelled or tasted. I get a huge aroma of chocolate, sour funk and a melange of dried fruit and fruit cake. Flavors on the palate replicate the nose and this beer is flat out delicious. I get a stunning array of flavors, with the sour funk and chocolate presenting an interplay of contrasting notes. The rich dried fruit and fruit cake flavor only adds to the concert of flavors in this amazing beer. Mouthfeel is fairly full, but this beer is not at all heavy on the palate. Drinkability is hard to describe with this beer. There's so much flavor and it's so rich, it's just not the sort of beer you can chug down. On the other hand, drinking something as delicious as this is no problem, and while it was slow going, God knows the drinking was never difficult or tiring.

This is outstanding stuff. If more wild sour ales tasted like this, I'd soon be drinking them all the time.

This was the beer that started it all for Cascade as a notable brewer of oak aged, bottle conditioned sour beers. Cascade uses a house cultivated "free range lacto bacillus" bacteria to ferment the Cuvée. It undergoes a complex regimen of first brewing as a Flanders-style red, then blending with a Belgian-style tripel and oak barrel aging for up to 18 months.

The blending process is particularly demanding and inexact, making each bottling of Jongleur unique unto itself. The resulting brew is then combined with a fresh Belgian-style quad to affect bottle conditioning. Cascade bottles the beer in corked and caged 750 ml champagne magnums that retail for $18.

The result is an ale of blood orange color whose smell is startlingly sour and cidery. The beer shows a fine sandy head and enthused carbonation. The usual taste elements of malt and hops don't apply here. The beer is tart but not overly puckering with relaxed contours from aging. It is an elegant blend of complementary angles with a leisurely dry finish. The texture is especially soft and cottony.

Cascade's Cuvée is an artful blend of complex beer forms and would certainly go well any number of food pairings such as chicken or seafood. I drank mine with some roasted almonds. The name Jongleur means Juggler in French - a reference to the challenging blending technique used.

Much thanks go out to jlindros for this trade! Pours a dark amber/copper color with a two finger off-white head, and left some very nice sheets of laciing on my Tripel Karmeliet tulip. As I stick my nose in the glass, I'm first greeted with belgian tripel yeast quality followed by some mild funk, green apples, and a light sweetness. Taste is mildly acidic, tart, and lightly funky. Apple flavor is predominate, followed by some cherry, some tart citric flavors, mostly lemon, light oak, some sweetness, and bone dry on the finish. Some buttery/toffee flavors start to show up in the finish as it warms. Very interesting stuff! Carbonation zingy at first but mellows quickly as it warms up. Great balance between the light sweetness and the tart, but if you're a big sour-head like me, a little more tart/sour could go a long way with this beer. Delicious nonetheless, and I can barely detect any alcohol. Very good beer!

D: Easy going for the ABV. All of their beers drink much easier than they should. If I could say something bad about their beers which there is minimal is they try to do too much. They are blending radically different styles. To their credit they always are good beers. But even for Wild Ales they are hard to pin down.